Bukkare*Dan
Bukkare*Dan (ぶッかれ＊ダン) was a short-lived gag manga by Fujio Akatsuka and Fujio Pro. It ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday from August 2, 1970 (#33) to March 14, 1971 (#11). Overview After the end of Extraordinary Ataro and its follow-up Gag + Gag, Akatsuka attempted to explore a new idea for his editors and Toei Animation, who wanted a new trend to follow up the "Nyarome boom" that Ataro had caused. The plot of Bukkare*Dan centered around a pair of fifth grade children (Dan and Ai) who considered themselves married as husband and wife, and their teacher's motive to find out the mystery of their situation. It was a departure from earlier gag works by Akatsuka, and meant to be more of a love comedy. There was minimal usage of Akatsuka's Star System, and his assistant Mitsutoshi Furuya also handled the art duties throughout the title. It was considered a "failed work" by Akatsuka, as it did not last a full year in Shonen Sunday or catch on well with readers. Around the same time, he had helped plot and illustrate Furuya's No-Good Father (ダメおやじ Dame Oyaji), being responsible for ghostwriting half of the chapters for its first publication year, showing that the collaborative system between the two extended to there. In the end, it would be that other series that would wind up earning greater success, though Akatsuka and Fujio Pro's involvement would end and provide Furuya the opportunity to go entirely solo on it. Bukkare*Dan was eventually followed up by the more successful Let's La Gon, and any opportunity there was for the former series to be adapted into anything by Toei was abolished with its lack of success. Unlike other Star System characters from bigger series, it is much rarer and infrequent to see Dan, Ai, or Mr. Gesupeta show up in other works though it is still an occasional possibility. Characters See also: List of characters in Bukkare*Dan Dan (ダン) A naughty and reckless boy in school, but an old-fashioned husband at home. He is envied by others due to having Ai, and he'll strongly defend her. During the period of the manga where Ai has been captured by her father, a classmate named Midori attempts to be Dan's new girlfriend but Dan will not be swayed. After Pinta comes into the story, Dan finds that his "son" may be an obstacle in his way of his time with Ai and becomes jealous. Ai (アイちゃん) Dan's sweetheart, who takes up the role of housewife after school. She is domestic and can cook very well for her young age, and is committed to building a family and future. Though she seems a simple docile girl, she can fend off Gesupeta in some instances with a slap or attack from her broom. She will not hesitate to slap Dan for misbehaving either. It is revealed that she and Dan have become married as a protest and escape from their families who refuse to allow them to see each other, and her father forcibly takes her away from Tokyo to go back to being part of their pig farm. This necessitates Dan's drive to rescue her, as there's no other girl for him but Ai. Mr. Gesupeta (ゲスペタ先生) The homeroom teacher. He is a curious but highly jealous and lecherous man who has little else to do with his life, so he follows the two students around and intrudes on their living situation. He aims to solve how and why they could be a married couple at their young age, and what their circumstances are. He is rather unlucky in love, and the "gesu" (scum) part of his name highlights his unseemly existence. It is shown right off the bat how low he can go when he becomes taken by Ai's appearance and attempts to flirt with her, becoming jealous at hearing how Dan is her husband. Pinta (ピン太) A scrappy younger child that Dan and Ai decide to adopt as the son of their family after he shows up at their house one day. He is into horse racing and other sorts of gambling at his young age, and likes to get into fights. He and Dan are shown to feud when they meet, but even when Dan beats him up, he finds that Pinta isn't easily controlled. However, Pinta leaves the series a few chapters before its closure, leaving a farewell note for his parents and abandoning home to go elsewhere. Serialization See List of chapters in Bukkare*Dan for more details Bukkare*Dan is a relatively short work due to its cancellation, lasting only 30 chapters; The final two stories featuring Dan and Ai in issues #12 and #13 of Shonen Sunday are technically not the actual finale, but an additional crossover feature between the series and No-Good Father. During its run, it was pre-empted once on September 13, 1970 (#38), due to the death of Akatsuka's mother. This necessitated his assistants to come up with a fill-in story on their own for that week, which resulted in the one-shot story of Oh! Great Jailbreak. This featured characters from The Genius Bakabon, Extraordinary Ataro, Karappe of the Wind, and Osomatsu-kun attempting a breakout from prison. The 80s Akatsuka series of Romeo and Julie can be seen as a slight spiritual successor, as it involves another "Romeo and Juliet" plot involving a pair of young kids that strive to be together against their parents' odds and leave their farmland behind to do so. The cameo of Ai as "Keiko" in it may have been a further nod. Reprints *Akebono: 3 volumes (1972). The second part of "Bukkare*Dan + No-Good Father" is included in volume 3, while the first part can be found in volume 3 of Akebono's "No-Good Father" release. *Shogakukan: "Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works" DVD-ROM set (2002); the three Akebono volumes are digitized for the collection. *eBookJapan: 3 volumes (2010) References External Links * Bukkare*Dan eBookJapan page (Japanese) Category:Gag works Category:Bukkare*Dan Category:1970s works Category:Manga Category:Works serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday